Five ways to improve your Dialogue
The challenge is always the same. We must control the puppet strings of these characters so they perform the needs of the scene yet create the illusion of genuine agency.
After the midpoint.
The midpoint doesn't change the character. It just changes their direction.
It's not the plot. It's the emotion.
It's the emotion, stupid. The emotion is what counts. Always, always, always.
How the monster movie structure can help you with any genre.
When structuring your story, you don't have to start from scratch. There are plenty of places to look for inspiration, and one of them is genre.
Three foundations to solve any screenwriting problem.
Most everything I teach comes down to three pillars. I have found that when I am struggling, one of them has broken down.
Keep the audience engaged as you keep secrets.
You never want the audience to wonder what the story is. Let them think they know. And then reveal it to be something more.
Falling to the level of your systems.
"You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems." — James Clear.
Your Subplots Are Story, Too.
There is no “B Story”; only the main story.
And that main story has subplots that support and deepen it.
Audience satisfaction is your job.
Audience satisfaction is about the audience experiencing enough of an emotional journey that they feel like their money, attention, and, above all, their time was worth it.
The scene is the emotion. The emotion is the scene.
Movies are an emotion delivery system. This is the point of the whole exercise. And that is the point of the scene.
It's the relationships that matter in your screenwriting.
“What audiences really care about,” he said, “Was seeing the character share that achievement with a loved one.”
Keep a scene dynamic through character tactics.
The key to keeping a scene fresh and alive is characters making choices in reaction to what happens around them.